Technology and Interpersonal Violence

Interpersonal violence persists across all landscapes, yet research and efforts to prevent and regulate such harms have been focused primarily on non-urban locations. As technology infiltrates all spheres of our lives, it is increasingly used to enact interpersonal violence: this lethal and non-lethal violence occurs in both familial and care settings (including child abuse, intimate partner abuse, elder abuse) and community settings (such as bullying, harassment and assault by acquaintances, strangers or persons who may be known, in social environments, schools and workplaces). To advance our understanding of and responses to these dangers, a spatial approach is key – this means recognizing how rurality shapes victimization and perpetration (see Harris, 2018; DeKeseredy, 2021). Additionally, it requires considering how the spacelessness of technology can be weaponized but can also offer opportunities for rural people to seek assistance and support.